Gas-engine.



'No. 69|,489. Patented .Ian. 2|, I902.

c; Roamson. GAS ENGINE.

(Application filed Sept. 20, 1900.) (No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet l.

mm'ssEs No. 69I,489.'

Patented Ian. 2|, I902. C. ROBINSON.

G A S E N GIN E A jmccion filed Sept. 20, 1900.

2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

(No M'odplJ" m: uonms PETERS ca. Pnu'rouma. WASNXNGTON. 4 c.

NITED STATES ATENT CYRUS ROBINSON, OF EDGEVVOOD PARK, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOR TO THE WESTINGHOUSE MACHINE COMPANY, A CORPORATION OF PENN- SYLVANIA.

GAS-ENGINE.

SPECIFICATION formingpart of Letters Patent No. 691 ,489, dated January 21, 1902.

Application filed September 20, 1900. Serial. No. 30,637. (No model- To aZZ whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, CYRUS ROBINSON, a subject of the Queen of Great Britain, residing at Edgewood Park, in the county of Allegheny and State of Pennsylvania, have invented a new and usefulImprovement in GasEngincs, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to gas-engines; and it has for its objects to provide an engine of this character which shall afford a maximum degree of power for the fuel consumed and in which the strains are so distributed as to make a minimum demand upon the strength of the parts and also one in which the reciprocating parts of the engine shall perform at least a portion of the work ordinarily performed by a fiy-wheel.

With these ends in view I have devised the means shown in the accompanying drawings, of which Figure l is a view of a two-cylinder engine embodying my invention, one cylinder being shown in front elevation and the other in section. Fig. 2 is a detail view of one of the valve-operating devices. Fig. 3 is a vertical section through one of the cylinders, the section being taken at right angles to that of Fig. 1. Fig. 4 is a plan view, and Fig. 5 is a longitudinal sectional view, of the mixing-valve of the engine. Fig. 6 is a detail sectional view of one of the valves and adjacent parts, and Fig. 7 is a detail sectional view of a voluntary valve. Fig. 8 is a horizontal section on line II II of Fig. 1.

Referring now to the structural details illustrated in the drawings, I will describe merely one half of the engine, it being understood that the two halves are exact duplicates, except that the cranks are set one hundred and eighty-degrees apart.

The vertical stationary cylinder 1 for the main reciprocating parts of the engine is shown as part of a casting that comprises also the crank-case 2 and is mounted upon a suitable bed-plate 3. The piston 4 is stationary and is supported upon two columns or pipes 5 and 6, the latter of which communicates at its upper end with the space 7 beneath the piston 4 by means of a passage 8, the end of the pipe or column being providedwith an upwardly-opening voluntary valve 9. The upper end of the other pipe or column 5 registers with an opening 10,thatextends through the piston and is provided with a valve 11, mounted upon a stem 12, the lower end of which is provided with a head or piston 13, that is operated by a suitable cam 14, adjustably mounted upon a short-shaft 15, this shaft being connected to the crank-pin 16 of the main shaft 17 by a drag-link 18. The main shaft is provided midway between the two cylinders 1 with a fiy-wheel 19, and adjacent thereto is provided a bevel gear-wheel 20, that meshes with a bevel-pinion 2lon the lower end of a vertical shaft 22, which shaft extends upward nearly to the top of the engine and is provided with a governor 23 for automatically adjusting the mixingvalve 24. Air and gas are respectively supplied tothe mixing-valve through pipes 25 and 26, and the mixture is supplied to the pipes or columns 6 through pipes 27 and 28. The upper end of the shaft 22 is provided with a bevel-pinion 29, that meshes with the corresponding pinion 30 on a horizontal shaft 31, provided at its ends with crank-arms 32, each of which is connected, by means of a link 33, to a crankarm 34, the free end of which is connected by a vertical link or rod to a valve 36, the construction and operation of which will be hereinafter more fully described.

The reciprocating cylinder 37 of the engine is provided with water-chambers in its walls, as is usual, and the lower head 38 is connected to the upper end of the pitman or connecting-rod 39 for the purpose of rotating the shaft 17 as the cylinder reciprocates. The

chamber 40 in the lower head communicates with the space below the piston 4 through an opening controlled by a voluntary valve 41, that is normally closed by means of a spring 42, and the chamber 40 also communicates with the space in the cylinder 37 above the piston 4 by means of a passage 43 and a port 43, communication between chamber 40 and passage 43 being normally cut off by a valve 44, that is pressed downward by means of a coiled spring 45. The stem 46 of the valve projects through the supporting-bracket 47 for the spring a sufficient distance, so that when the cylinder 37 is in its lowest position the end of the stem will come into engagement with an adjustable stop 48, supported upon the frame, and thus serve to open the valve 44.

The upper end 49 of the cylinder 37 is provided with a vertical tube or pipe 50, that projects through the head 51 of the cylinder 1 and has a series of circumferentially-arranged openings 52 adjacent to the upper head 53, the openings being .covcred and uncovered at suitable intervals by the valve 36. The head 51 of the cylinder 1 has an opening 53, from which a pipe leads to asuitable reservoir, this pipe and reservoir being, however, not shown. The head 51 is also provided with an opening 54, leading to the opening 53 from the space above the cylinder 37. The opening 54 is provided with a voluntary valve 41, like that in the cylinder-head 38, it being normally held to its seat by means of a coiled spring 42 and being raised by means of the air-pressure in the cylinder 1 when such pressure becomes sufficient to overcome that exerted by the spring. The walls of the valve 41 are shown as having perforations 57, so that when the valve is raised sufiiciently to cover such perforations an air-cushion will be provided. (See Fig. 7.)

Any suitable means for igniting the explosive mixture between the cylinder-head 49 and the piston 4 may be employed. As an operative example of such means I have shown a sparking electrode 58 projecting from the cylinder-head, a cooperating electrode 59'projecting from the piston, and an induction-coil 60, terminals of the secondary of which are respectively connected to the stationary cylinder 1 and the electrode 59. The wire 61, which leads to the electrode 59, extends through a tube 62, which may operate in a stuffing-box like those shown in connection with the tubes 5 and 6. The primary of the induction-coil 60 may be supplied with current from a battery 63 through a circuitinterrnpter 64, mounted upon the shaft 17.

It will be understood that the above-described igniting apparatus is not claimed as of my invention and that it may be supplanted by other apparatusor modified in any manner and to any extent that may be found desirable within the limitsof operative design.

The operation is as follows: Assuming that the crank-pin 16 is traveling in the direction of the arrow, Fig. 3, the cylinder 37 will move downward, the inlet-valve 9 will be opened, and a fresh charge of air and gas will be admitted to the space below the piston 4. The exhaust-valve 11 will also be opened, and the burned gases will be expelled from the space above piston 4 through the column 5 and the port 5. The air-inlet valve 36 will also be opened, allowing the spaceabove cylinder 37 to fill with air. Just before the end of the stroke is reached the valve 44 in head 38 will be opened, allowing the compressed gas in chamber 40 to pass through the passage 43 and port 43 into the cylinder 37 above the piston 4. At the end of the stroke the electrode 58 will be brought into sparking relation to the electrode 59, and the compressed charge of explosive mixture being thus ignited the cylinder 37 will be moved upward by the explosion and compress the air in the cylinder above it and also the new charge of mixed air and gas in the chamber below the piston 4. When the mixture of gas and air below the piston 4 is compressed to a density a little greater than that maintained in the chamber 40 of the cylinder-head 38, the voluntary valve 41 will open and admit the new charge into the chamber. At the end of the upward stroke the valve 41 will close and the charge of compressed mixture will be retained in thechamber 40 until near the end of the downward stroke, as described above, when the cycle is repeated.

It will be seen from the above description and the accompanying drawings that I have devised a two-cycle engine in which the reciprocating cylinder is utilized as a compressing-piston both for air and a mixture of air and gas. The invention allows of building a machine in which all the parts do practically double service, thus very materially reducing the cost both in number of pieces and weight. The reciprocating cylinder being heavy will act in the same manner as a flywheel, taking up by its inertia the excessive work at the beginning of the upward stroke, when there is very little work to do in compressing, and giving out this stored energy toward the end of theupward stroke, when there is a maximum work in compressing and a minimum propelling force. With this design all the advantages of a two-cycle engine are obtained with a single-acting construction. The strains, as will be readily seen from a study of the forces, are largely selfcontained, the columns being in compression during the working stroke and the only strains between the base-plate and the cylinderhead 57 being those due to compressing the air. These will be of a direct nature, with practicallynosidethrust. Noneofthestrains between the engine and the bed-plate which are incident to the operation of engines having stationary cylinders and movable pistons will be experienced with the present construction.

Various modifications may obviously be made in the details of construction without departing from the spirit and scope of my invention, and I therefore desire it to be understood that my invention is not limited to the specific details shown and described.

I claim as my invention 1. A gas-engine having a reciprocating cyl inder, in combination with a stationary piston located in said cylinder, a stationary cylinder in which said reciprocating cylinder opcrates, means for admitting a gaseous mixture between the piston and one head of the reciprocating cylinder to be compressed, means for transferring the compressed mixture to the space between the piston and the other head of said cylinder to be exploded.

2. Ina gas-engine, the combination with a crank-shaft, a plurality of reciprocating cylinders connected thereto, of stationary cylinders in which said reciprocating cylinders operate, stationary pistons fitting within said reciprocating cylinders, means for admitting a gaseous mixture between the piston and one head of the reciprocating cylinder to be compressed, means for transferring the compressed mixture to the space between thepiston and the other head of the cylinder to be exploded, and means for withdrawing the product-s of combustion after said explosion takes place.

3. In a gas-engine, the combination with a stationary piston and a reciprocating cylinder surrounding the same, of means for admitting an explosive mixture to the space between the piston and one end of the reciproeating cylinder and means for exhausting the products of combustion through the piston and the other end of said cylinder.

4. 'In a gas-engine, the combination with a stationary cylinder and a stationary piston, of a reciprocating cylinder which inclosos said piston and is inclosed by said stationary cylinder, suitable inlet and exhaust air-valves in the stationary cylinder, suitable inlet and exhaust valves in the reciprocating cylinder and operating means for both sets of valves whereby air is compressed between the reciprocating cylinder and the stationary cylinder and whereby an explosive mixture is compressed between one end of the piston and the reciprocating cylinder and is transferred to the space between the other end of the piston and the other end of the reciprocating cylinder to be exploded.

5. In a gas-engine, the combination with a stationary cylinder having air inlet and exhaust valves, of a stationary piston and a reciprocating cylinder provided with gas inlet and exhaust valves and operated by explosions between one end and the piston to compress air in the stationary cylinder and to compress gas between the piston and its other end.

6. In a gas-engine, the combination with a vertical stationary cylinder having an airchamber in its upper end, of a stationary piston within said stationary cylinder, and a reciprocating cylinder surrounding said piston and adapted to receive an explosive mixture below the piston and provided with means for transferring said mixture, when compressed, to the space above the piston, the explosion of said mixture serving to effect compression of air above the reciprocating cylinder and of the explosive mixture below the piston.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto sub scribed my name this 15th day of September, 1900.

CYRUS ROBINSON. Witnesses:

S. B. DUSINBERRE, J ANIES B. YOUNG. 

